Workplace Conflicts: Ways To Manage Problems Between Employees

Whether it’s a small company or a big organisation, conflicts between employees are a common occurrence. It may be due to differences in opinions, personalities, and other factors. Sometimes, a disagreement leads to a big mesh. If not resolved, then a conflict can affect the entire workplace.

Managing conflicts is a tricky thing. Many individuals enroll in conflict resolution courses to learn the art of handling workplace conflicts. On the other side, some team leaders use their team building skill to get rid of the problem.

Here are some effective ways to manage conflicts between employees and maintain a healthy work environment where everyone gets an opportunity to grow:

Understand The ConflictConflicts are a part of a workplace. A team leader should not panic when employees start having a heated argument. Instead of making assumptions about a conflict or believing the rumours, the leader should understand its nature. Try to figure out the reason behind the conflict.

You should make efforts to know if it’s just a regular conversation that led to a conflict or it is something linked to the workplace harassment. Before reacting to the situation, you should read the organisation’s policies to learn how to react to such conflicts.

There can be many reasons for the problem. Understanding it, in the beginning, can help you find an effective solution.

Let Employees Make Efforts To Manage The ConflictBeing a team leader, it’s your responsibility to encourage your employees to become self-sufficient. If it’s a small conflict, then ask your employees to resolve it on their own. A manager or supervisor’s reaction can make the problem bigger and lead to more conflicts.

When employees are encouraged to deal with a conflict, they get an opportunity to have a face-to-face discussion with other employees. They not just resolve the issue but also develop a good workplace relationship.

If required, then you can guide your team members. You should organise a discussion, instead of making a decision for all.

Listen To Both The PartiesEveryone should be given a chance to speak. Every individual likes to be listened to, especially when they are worried. Instead of reacting to rumors, ask both the parties to sit with you and discuss the matter.

Make sure you are not letting your emotions make a decision. Instead of emotions, allow facts to solve the issue. You can talk to both the parties at once or schedule two meetings. During the meeting, listened to both of them and discuss how to resolve the conflict.
Even if you have identified who is at fault, do not take sides. As a team leader, you need to be objective.

Explore Multiple Sources To Find The Best ApproachYou may have found a solution to resolve the conflict, but explore multiple resources to find the best approach. Review your organisational policies to learn multiple methods to get rid of a workplace problem.

You need to follow basic approaches sometimes, while some bad conflicts require you to apply a unique yet effective method to solve an issue.

While looking for the best approach, ensure that the method is just to resolve a conflict. You don’t need to dig deeper and take a long time to resolve the issue. Employees don’t need to be best friends. You just want them to come together to achieve a business objective.

Guide EmployeesA conflict is not going to resolve on its own. Apart from that, only a team leader is not enough to maintain a healthy workplace. Employees are also required to step up and make efforts to find an accurate solution to the problem.

Communication is the best way to manage a conflict. You can teach your team members how to communicate while handling different types of workplace problems. A professional training also includes managing difficult conversations where employees are taught how to have conversations with other employees.

Through a training on managing difficult conversations, employees learn about different workplace behaviours and methods to handle them.

ConclusionThese are some effective ways to handle conflicts between employees in a workplace. You, as a team leader, can apply them to develop a healthy culture in your company. By following them, you get a workplace where everyone is focused to achieve organisational goals, instead of arguing with others.